‘I Am Proud of Our Teamwork’: HSE Students among Winners of International Law Competition
As part of the international forum ‘The Nuremberg Trials and Contemporary International Law’ in Minsk, an international competition for undergraduate and graduate students was held. A team from HSE University was among the winners. The competition was organised by the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus and MITSO International University.
The competition was held both online and in person. Twenty-six student teams from Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan took part in the in-person stage. HSE University was represented by Faculty of Law graduate students Roman Abrashin, Matvey Vladimirov, and Nisso Khudoyeva. The team was coached by Professor Vera Rusinova, Head of the School of International Law at the Faculty of Law of HSE University. They took second place in the competition and received a certificate for the best prosecution memorandum.
The competition teams took part in an imitation case at the ‘International Criminal Court,’ which involved a simulated trial presenting the prosecution and defence sides.
According to team captain Roman Abrashin, the HSE team’s preparations for the competition went smoothly. ‘It was my responsibility to organise and coordinate everyone. We had weekly calls where we discussed the charges in the case, and then we collectively edited our written statement at our alma mater,’ he recalls.
During the first stage, the teams submitted written statements for both the prosecution and defence. ‘The best works advanced to the next stage. During the oral rounds, the teams presented their statements and answered the judges' questions,’ said Roman Abrashin.
Matvey Vladimirov noted that when preparing written statements and presentations during the in-person rounds, he followed the principle of ‘hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.’ ‘We wanted to win, but that wasn't a mandatory condition for enjoying the competition,’ he emphasised. ‘We took second place. However, that means that there is still room for improvement. Moreover, we received a certificate for the best prosecution, which is also very pleasing.’
Matvey Vladimirov added that international criminal law provides opportunities to study global and dramatic events in all aspects of life, from legal and political to social and cultural.
‘A lot of effort was made to reach the final, and I am proud of our teamwork,’ emphasised Nisso Khudoyeva. ‘By participating in the competition, I identified areas for professional growth and the development of necessary professional skills.’
The competition allowed Nisso to deepen her knowledge in the field of international criminal law while writing memoranda, gain experience interacting with other participants of the game process, and acquire the necessary skills to respond to judges' questions competently. ‘I also improved my teamwork skills, as we tried to make brainstorming sessions as beneficial as possible and build strong arguments for our statements. And ultimately, we succeeded in this task,’ she concluded.
Translated by Darya Zdrelyuk, Polina Yakupova, and Maxim Grassi, interns at the HSE University English website team